I am THANKFUL...

Last night we played "I am thankful for..." with the kids.

They had no interest in it until we said that whoever could name the blessings "wins."

Here are some things that we are thankful for:

Caitlin: My family.  Without question.  I am so grateful for my husband and my kids.  I have a husband who comes home after a long day at work to help me paint signs and take care of kids.  I have 3 gorgeous kids who I love to pieces and I am so grateful to be their mom!

Nate:  Having a job.  In a scary economy, I am grateful that Nate has a job too.  I have big dreams of one day getting a better job (LOL) but at least he has a job. 

Saxon:  Brothers and the whole world. :)

Bridger: Big Blue.  (Big blue is our minivan.  We are all soooo grateful to have Big Blue.  After squishing all three kids into a tiny car for almost a year, we were so grateful when we saved up enough to be able to afford a down payment on Big Blue.  The color wouldn't have been my first choice, but we it makes for a fun nickname).

Dalton:  I'm pretty sure he loves having big brothers.

As our game went on, our list of blessings became more and more obscure.

It was fun to remember things that we often forget to be thankful for.

Bridger told us that he is thankful that he can poop in the potty.

I am thankful that he can poop in the potty too LOL.

As the game ended, Saxon declared that "the boys team wins!!!"

Since I am the only girl in the house, I guess I didn't stand a chance :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

More Thanksgiving Ideas

Last year we had my husband's family over for Thanksgiving.

 Before I tell you about the decorations, let me explain our situation:

Nate and I live in a two-bedroom townhouse with three children.

There is barely enough room for us...much less company.

When it was proposed that we host Thanksgiving at our house, I was a little overwhelmed.

We had to move the furniture out of our family room to accommodate the tables and chairs that we had to rent.  It was a very tight squeeze.

I was responsible for all of the food, and my sister-in-law, Brooks, offered to bring all of the decorations and place settings.

When she showed up with the decorations, I was in awe...

It was beautiful beyond anything I could have come up with 

and I wanted to share her ideas with all of you because they are inspiring...

Each place setting was marked with a photo place card.

The kids had their own table, and their plates were those hard plastic plates that look like glass, but won't break if they are dropped.  Genius.  Because of course, a few were dropped.

Each table had a white table cloth with an organza overlay.

She brought all of her own dishes and silverware and place settings from Las Vegas.

Brooks and I both agree that Thanksgiving is a formal holiday, and we wanted to avoid paper products.  She even included on the invitations "smart casual dress requested" so that everyone would come prepared for a beautiful dinner.

For the center pieces, she cut the top off of a foam pumpkin.

She put the brown glitter candle, tied with a green ribbon, in the pumpkin.

Each pumpkin sat on a wreath of twigs and berries.

Each place setting had a chocolate truffle with a Thanksgiving quote.

She put a different quote on every single truffle.

After dinner we all read our quotes to each other.

The kids loved it because it was like getting a fortune cookie :)

Isn't she amazing?

I hope her creativity inspired you as much as it inspired me.

Thanks Brooks!

DIY Thanksgiving Decorations

Growing up, Thanksgiving was a formal holiday.

My Grandma's house was always decorated exquisitely, the food was gourmet, and we always dressed up in honor of the holiday.

Even though I live away from my family, I want to keep our traditions alive.

I make all of the food from scratch, I decorate, and we all dress up...even though it's just us...eating dinner together as a family.

I've been experimenting with some ideas for Thanksgiving Decorations that are simple, pretty, and affordable.  Money is always tight around here, so I try to use supplies that I already have.

1.  Burlap Table Runner

This one if very simple.  I cut a piece of burlap the length of the table.  Then I tied both ends with a ribbon.  I left the edges raw because I like the natural look of the burlap.

2.  Corn Kernel Tea Light

I saw this idea on pintrest and I loved it!  I used an ice cream dish that I already had, and filled it with popcorn kernels.  Then I put a tea light in it.  That's it.  Sometimes the simplest things are the prettiest.

3.  Painted Pumpkins

I still have several garden pumpkins that we didn't carve for Halloween.  I painted two of them white.  

For the small one, I just painted it white and then distressed it, so the orange pumpkin was showing through the white paint.

For the large one, I painted it white and then cut out the letters "Give Thanks" and some leaves and glued it on.  Until Thanksgiving, it's going to sit on my front porch :)

4.  Ribbon Napkin Ring

This was a last minute idea, but I like how it tuned out.  I don't have a matching set of napkin rings, so I just tied ribbon around the napkins.  It added a fun pop of color to the place settings.

5.  Thanksgiving Vinyl

I ordered this Thanksgiving vinyl off of Groopdealz a while back and finally decided to make something with it.  Vinyl is fun because it is so easy!

How do you celebrate Thanksgiving?

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween Everyone!

Love, Cait (Candace) Saxon (Ferb) Bridger (Phineas)

and Grammie (my mom) holding Dalton (Agent P.)

And here's Saxon with his teacher...isn't she the cutest? We love her!

Aunt BB (Brittany from Love Stitched) came with us too.

A few people even stopped her to ask if she was Brittany from Love Stitched.

It was awesome!  Kind of like being with a celebrity :)

And speaking of Aunt BB...

she's running a deal on GroopDealz today!

Make sure to go check it out... 

 What are you Halloween plans?

3 Easy Halloween Cupcakes

I have a really fun recipe to share with you today!

It's one cupcake mix that can be made 3 different ways.

Here's the recipe:

1 box of vanilla cake mix

1/3 cup oil

1 cup sour cream

3 eggs

1 tsp. almond extract

Idea #1

Pumpkin in a Cupcake

I made a batch of Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie mix and then colored it orange and green.

Then form little pumpkins out of the dough.

Then put a scoop of cake batter in the cupcake liner.

Put your little cookie dough pumpkin in the cake batter.

Then put another scoop of cake batter on top to cover it.

Since the cupcakes had to be really full to cover the cookie dough, I bake them a little longer than usual.  I kept them in about 20 minutes at 350.  Cooking times and temperatures depend on your oven and altitude.

But...I think they turned out pretty cute!

My kids got a kick out of the "secret" inside the cupcake :)

Idea #2

Candy Corn Cupcakes

First, make the cake batter and then divide it into two bowls.

Color one yellow, and the other orange.

Then, put a scoop of yellow batter in the cupcake liner, and then a scoop of orange on top.

Once they are baked and cooled, swirl some white buttercream frosting on top. 

When you cut them in half...ta-da!

Candy corn colored cupcakes :)

Idea #3

Harvest Cupcakes

For this last idea, I just baked the vanilla cupcakes in the harvest cupcake liners from Wal-mart.  Then I topped them with vanilla buttercream frosting and candy-corn-colored sprinkles.  The cupcake liners came with these darling little pumpkins and leaves.  Super cute.  Super easy.

Make sure to check out where we link :)

What we wore (in orange)

What we wore:

Since it's October, I've been feeling like ORANGE.

I dressed everyone up in orange and then asked my husband to snap a pic.

Of my skirt...specifically.

This is what we got:

Attempt #1:

(he missed half of the skirt).

Attempt #2:

Still missed the bottom of the skirt.

Attempt #3:

I clarified "Could you really try to get all of my skirt?"

Attempt #4:

Most of the skirt...cut off the shoes.

Sigh...oh well :)  He did try.

What I wore:

skirt: Surrealist

shirt: Surrealist

shoes: Steve Madden

earrings: forever 21

hair: my favorite french braid.

What Saxon wore:

shirt: Target

pants: H & M

skull tie: thrifted

What Dalton wore:

shirt: Target

pants: Hurley

shoes: Jack & Lily from Costco

What Bridger wore:

shirts: Children's Place

pants: H & M

Let me tell you a little bit about why I love our orange outfits...

My little brother Kenny married his wife Lisa on Halloween a few years ago.

This is what we wore:

(look familiar? LOL)

This is what Kenny & Lisa wore to their costume wedding:

Lisa painted eyeballs on her eye lids so she could take pictures with her eyes open or closed.  This picture is with eyes closed.  Cool, huh?

And Willy Wonka performed the ceremony.

It was classic.

Linking up at:

The Pleated Poppy

Momma Go Round

No Model Lady

Dinner in a Pumpkin

Have you ever made dinner in a pumpkin?

SO FUN!

I decided to aim high and try dinner in FOUR pumpkins :)

I wanted to try Jambalaya in a pumpkin,

but my cousins who were coming over, don't like shrimp.

So, I also made a traditional beef dinner in a pumpkin.

My kids wanted their very own, so I made two individual sized dinners.

First, I picked some pumpkins from the garden and washed them.

 Then, clean them out and put them in on a tray in the oven to bake at 350.

The pumpkins will start baking while you prepare the rest of the dinner.

Recipe #1:

• 1 medium pumpkin

• 1 box Zatarain's jambalaya rice mix (mild) 

•  2 1/2 C. water 

•  2 T. vegetable oil

• 1 kielbasa or other comparable sausage, cut into bite-sized pieces

• 1 lb. shrimp, peeled and deveined

• 1 1b. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces

• ½ C. celery, diced

• 1 medium onion, diced

• 1 green bell pepper, diced

Just put all of the ingredients in a skillet, bring to a boil, then simmer for 25 minutes.
The recipe link has a great step by step picture tutorial if you want to check it out.
Once the rice mixture is done, take the pumpkin out of the oven, fill it with Jambalaya, and put it back in the oven to bake.  It's already been in the oven for a while now, so it should only need another 15 minutes or so. 

Recipe #2:

• 1 medium pumpkin
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 lbs ground beef
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 (4 ounce) can sliced mushrooms
• 1 (15 ounce) can cream of chicken soup
• 1 1/2 cups cooked rice
• 1 (8 ounce) can sliced water chestnuts

First, brown the ground beef.  Then, drain the fat and add the onions.  Let them cook for a few minutes and then add the rest of the ingredients.  Stir the mixture on low for a few minutes.  Once it's ready, scoop it into the pumpkin.

My kids LOVED having their very own mini pumpkin to eat out of...

This was a little more time consuming that I anticipated, but very fun!

I am definitely going to make this one again.

My favorite was the Jambalaya.  Definitely.

My cousins only ate the beef so that got their vote.

My baby loved the pumpkin!

 I scooped off chunks of pumpkin and put them on his tray and he loved it :)

Success!

*side note:  One of my favorite things about the Jambalaya recipe is that it is adaptable for different diets.  My Grandma is allergic to dairy, and gluten.  So, this one works for her.  Half of my family is vegan, and if we leave out the meat, it works for them as well.  So, this was a recipe that I shared with everyone!

Linking up to:
Tip Junkie 
Blue Cricket Design 
Somewhat Simple 

"The WITCH is in" frame - tutorial

Since my kids are all geared up for Halloween,

(we are growing our own pumpkins and they already have their costumes)

I thought I had better start decorating.

So, I came up with this,

I hope you enjoy it!

Step #1 Start with a wood frame and some burlap.
Step #2 Take everything out of the frame (glass, cardboard, etc).
Step #3 Choose your colors.  I chose orange and black for true Halloween.  :)
Step #4 Paint the frame in the first color.  This is the bottom color and the finished frame  will only have small touches of this color.
Step #5 Paint the frame in the second color.  This will be the main color of your frame.
Step #6 Let it dry completely.  Luckily, acrylic paint dries really fast.  If you are really in a hurry, try using a blow dryer to speed it up.

Step #7 Lightly sand the frame.  If you sand too much, you will see the original color of the frame.  Just barely sand to get the top color off and let the bottom color show.  I accidentally sanded through to the original frame color in a few spots, but I actually like it.  It just makes it look more rustic.
Step #8 Once you like how your frame looks, coat it in a protective sealer.
Step #9 To measure the burlap, I used the glass from the frame and outlined in with a permanent marker.
Step #10 Just cut out the burlap along the lines that you made.
Step #11 This step depends on what you have available.  I borrowed a Silhouette and used it to cut out a stencil of the design that I wanted.  You could also cut it out on cardstock for one time use.  If you don't have a Silhouette, you could buy letter stencils and place them on one at a time and paint them.  Or, you could try stamping the letters straight on the burlap.  Or...(this is the really old fashioned way, but it still works) you can print out your design on paper and place a clear sheet of stencil on top.  Then, using and exacto knife, cut out your letters to create your own custom stencil.  My Grandma taught me this method because that is how she used to create her own stencils LOL.  Once you have your stencil ready, center it on your piece of burlap.
Step #12 Paint your design on the burlap.  Fabric is really fun to paint on because it is pretty forgiving.  It doesn't really leak or bleed and it takes a few layers to get enough paint.  I used a wide stencil brush on mine.  REMEMBER: use a dry brush.  Don't get your brush wet first or it will bleed.  Use a dry brush and only a little paint at a time.  Just continue to layer it until it is dark enough.  Mine only took 2 coats.

Next comes the really easy part :)  I just used spray glue and sprayed it on the glass.
Then I stuck the piece of painted burlap on to the sticky glass and put it back in the frame.

What do you think?

I made this one to sit on my front door by our pumpkins.

You can use this same method to create any design that you want.

Linking up at:
The Idea Room
Blue Cricket Design
Somewhat Simple
Tip Junkie 
I {heart} Naptime 
Tatertots & Jello

Memorial Day Weekend!

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

Do you have any big plans?

Just for fun, I looked up the history behind Memorial Day.

We always think of it as the kick-off to summer, but here's why we actually celebrate it:

Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday that honors American servicemembers and is observed on the last Monday of May (May 30 in 2011). Formerly known as Decoration Day, it commemorates U.S. citizens who died while on military service.^[1] First enacted to honorUnion and Confederate soldiers following the American Civil War,^[2] it was extended after World War I to honor Americans who have died in all wars.

Memorial Day often marks the start of the summer vacation season, and Labor Day its end.

Begun as a ritual of remembrance and reconciliation after the civil war, by the early 20th century, Memorial Day was an occasion for more general expressions of memory, as ordinary people visited the graves of their deceased relatives, whether they had served in the military or not. It also became a long weekend increasingly devoted to shopping, family gatherings, fireworks, trips to the beach, and national media events such as the Indianapolis 500 (since 1911) and the Coca-Cola 600 (since 1960) auto races.^[3]

^{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_Day}

And in case you need some ideas for what to cook on Memorial day...check out Taste of Home and their dozens of Memorial Day recipes:

American Flag Berry Pie Recipe

http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Holiday---Celebration-Recipes/Memorial-Day-Recipes